TAKING CHARGE Lakers increase conference lead, B1
SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 2014
Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878
CEP means more money upfront
Drink up, Glasgow THE WORLD NORTH BEND — Water board officials lifted a drinking water advisory in Glasgow after identifying a pipe on the McCullough Bridge as the probable cause of a recent chemical leak. According to the Coos BayNorth Bend Water Board, a water pipe that runs across the bridge has been out of service for approximately two months. The chemicals — naphthalene and tetrachloroethene, also known as PCE — were
identified by a lab in Medford in samples provided by the water board. The agency had enacted a water consumption advisory affecting about 150 people after Glasgow residents complained of a fuel-like smell in their water. Naphthalene and PCE are commonly used as wetting and degreasing agents, respectively. Water board officials say the pipe will be tested after it’s again flushed and will be disinfected before it’s returned to service.
Proposed Jordan Cove community service fee comes with 3.65 percent interest ■
BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
Part 1 of 2 COOS BAY — There’s a cost to Jordan Cove giving the community millions of dollars in advance: interest. If the Community Enhancement Plan and Jordan Cove Energy
Project’s application for a long-term rural enterprise zone exemption are approved, the company would start doling out community service fees immediately. The four Bay Area Enterprise Zone sponsors could give Jordan Cove up to 19 years of property tax exemptions, on one condition: The company would pay community service fees instead. During the first four years of construction, the fees would be fixed at $12 million a year, an amount the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay negotiated with Jordan Cove.
Tuesday On Tuesday, we’ll examine the interest revenue aspect of the Community Enhancement Plan, which proposes including endowment funds within both the South Coast Community Foundation and the Bayfront Investment Corp.
Starting in 2020, those fees would be tied to the property’s assessed value — just as property taxes would be. Together, the CEP and longSEE CEP | A12
Commissioners question fish plan
A day at the museum
BY THOMAS MORIARTY The World
NORTH BEND — Don’t mess with our fish. That was the message South Coast leaders sent to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday morning at the agency’s meeting at The Mill Casino-Hotel. The state commission discused Multi-Species the Coastal Management Plan, which has been the subject of local controversy since late last year. The plan, intended to meet the state’s obligations under the Native Fish Conservation Policy, has been criticized for proposing the shift or elimination of some hatchery fish raised by volunteers. “I continue to have concerns about the science or lack thereof,”
Coos County Commissioner Melissa Cribbins said. “We can’t afford to get this wrong.” Cribbins was referring to the agency’s characterization of the threat posed by hatchery fish to native fish of the same species. That specific “conservation risk” is one of several factors the agency is citing in its proposal to end hatchery fall Chinook releases on the West Fork Millicoma River and shift those same fish lower in the Coos Bay system. The current draft of the plan also proposes a 50,000-fish reduction in fall Chinook releases in the Elk River, and the end of winter steelhead releases in the East Fork Coquille River. Both Coos and Curry counties SEE FISH | A12
Fraud total grows for Kustom Products BY THOMAS MORIARTY The World
COOS BAY — The stakes for a South Coast business family accused of defrauding the federal government just got a little higher. Harold Ray Bettencourt II, owner of Kustom Products Inc., faces wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges, along with several family members and employees, stemming from the sale of allegedly fraudulent vehicle parts to the U.S. Department of Defense. Federal prosecutors originally pegged the amount of fraudulently obtained proceeds at approxi-
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Comics . . . . . . . . . . C5 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . C5 Classifieds . . . . . . . C6
Margaret Livingston, Coos Bay Elizabeth Henze, North Bend Robert Kinsey, Gig Harbor, Wash. Sheila Wiitanen, West Linn Kenneth West, Scottsburg
Obituaries | A7
BAY AREA
Police reports . . . . A2 What’s Up . . . . . . . Go! South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
DEATHS
INSIDE
Above, four stories of windows along the Front Street side of the new Coos Historical and Martime Museum will allow lots of natural light into the exhibit area of the new structure. Left, inside the exhibit hall at the under construction museum shows the balcony area where some smaller displays will be and also views down on the exhibits on the main floor.
BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
COQUILLE — All three school roofs in Coquille are failing, prompting the school board to apply for funding from the state. At its Wednesday meeting, the Coquille School Board voted to apply for a $3.75 million Qualified Zone Academy Bond from the Oregon Department of Education. Coquille High, Coquille Valley
New record Mr. MHS pageant nets $15,250 to exceed the total goal for the contestants to raise $20,000 this year. Page A5
CLOUD
NO DOWN & INTEREST FOR 50 MONTHS!*
TEMPUR-
*ON PURCHASES OF $999 AND UP.
and Lincoln Elementary all need new roofs, which will cost $2.2 million. The district will lump in several other “critical maintenance issues,” including about $300,000 in parking lot repairs. Superintendent Tim Sweeney hopes to receive the funding by June 15. Then the district will put out for requests for proposal and likely begin Coquille Valley School’s roofSEE COQUILLE | A12
Rain 54/44 Weather | A12
*On approved credit. Monthly payments required.
Up to 13 Differnt Models on Display
ON SELECT
EXTRA SAVINGS
The South Coast’s Exclusive Tempur-pe dic ® Retailer • Free Delivery! • Free Set-up ! • Free Haul Away!
SEE KUSTOM | A12
Coquille schools prep funding for new roofs
FORECAST
By Lou Sennick, The World
mately $7.5 million. Last week, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment raising that amount to just more than $10.5 million. At the heart of the charges is the government’s allegation that Kustom Products knowingly sold the Pentagon counterfeit and substandard aviation lock nuts — a critical component of certain military helicopters. One of the indicted co-conspirators, employee Josh Kemp, told federal investigators in 2012 that the company had also fabricated parts for Humvees.
& CONTOUR MODELS
2079 Sherman Ave., North Bend 541-756-1123 Monday-Saturday 9-6 • Sunday 11-4
w w w.englesfurniture.com